Tag: Costa Rica

If you appreciate pure nature, are interested in observing wildlife and love relaxing on beautiful beaches watching an incredible sunset, then Costa Rica should be on your travel bucket list.

Manuel Antonio National Park faces the Pacific Ocean in central Costa Rica. This part of Costa Rica encompasses rugged rainforests, white sandy beaches and coral reefs. Costa Rica is known for its vast diversity of tropical flowers and animals. The National Park is roughly 680 hectares huge and has a variety of different hiking trails, which lead you from the coast up into the mountains.

If you are keen on hiking through the rain forest, you want to make sure you can see all the wildlife and not missing out on anything. I, therefore, recommend booking a guided tour through the rain forest. The guides use a large telescope and know the forest and their inhabitants inside out. They spot tiny little animals you would have never guessed finding on your own.

Enjoy the journey through the rainforest in Manuel Antonio National Park:

You have the beach for yourself mid in the National Park of Manual Antonio. On the way to the beach, you can observe the Costa Rican wildlife.

Costa Rica has some fascinating wildlife to see in the rainforests:

The Montezuma is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama.

The great Kiskadee is one of the tyrant flycatchers which can be between 21 to 27cm in length.

Without the tour guide in the Manuel Antonio National Park, I would not have been able to spot this caterpillar.

Who would have found this tiny grasshopper in the middle of the rainforest without the local guides and their telescopes?

You can see the white-faced capuchin monkeys when strolling through the rain forest. Unfortunately, this species is endangered. These two guys in that photo were fighting and chasing each other.

The three-toed sloths are one of the Costa Rican locals. They are very slow in moving from one spot to another. Their faces seem to smile all day long. When you walk through the rain forest, take your time and see if you can spot them in the trees.

The Black Spiny-tailed Iguana is a lizard in Central America and Mexico. It is the largest species in the genus Ctenosaura and has been recorded as the fastest-running species of lizard.They have distinctive black, keeled scales on their long tails, which gives them their common name. The males are capable of growing up to 1.3 meters in length, and the females are slightly shorter, at 0.8–1 meter.

Besides the tropical animals you will notice the most beautiful colourful flowers in the rainforest:

It was raining in the rainforest near Cachi in Costa Rica. The flowers were covered with rain drops which made it so much more interesting to photograph.

Walking through the rain forest in Costa Rica is paradise for flower lovers.

Lots of you will notice this beautiful orchid, however, to see it growing in the wild rainforest is fascinating.

Costa Rica has also plenty of options to go on boat trips for snorkelling in the coral reef. On the way you might be lucky to see dolphins and whales:

I was on a snorkelling trip in Costa Rica and was lucky to being able to see a dolphin jumping out and back into the ocean.

Being on a snorkelling trip and seeing some dolphins is what I have expected but then getting to see a humpback whale was not on my list and made the trip so much more exciting.

Now you have seen so much from this wonderful region of Costa Rica, the beautiful colourful flowers and cute, exotic wildlife. It is time to relax on the beach in Manuel Antonio National Park enjoying the sunset.

Relax and watch the sunset in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica.

People are usually scared of changes because it is unknown and it brings us out of our comfort zone. Let me tell you something: change can be a good thing and it usually happens when you just get to comfortable but felt you always wanted to change something in your life but were scared of the unexpected. Be open-minded and embrace the new. The unexpected can be the most beautiful thing you will experience. Getting out of your comfort zone makes you feel great and happy.

Our mother nature is changing on a daily basis. Changes from day to night brings out the beautiful colours. Imagine it would always be the same, life would be boring. Light reflects transition from one state to another. You might see a light in the tunnel or have a great idea to pursue; this means change and with it a new beginning.

Live your life; expect the unexpected and be always ready to embrace change in your life. Just open your mind and you will see that there is always something positive in changes even if you can not see it in that moment. Once time will pass, you will be able to see it. Believe in ‘everything happens for a reason’.

“Light precedes every transition. Whether at the end of a tunnel, through a crack in the door or the flash of an idea, it is always there, heralding a new beginning.” ― Teresa Tsalaky, The Transition Witness

Even though skies can be grey on a rainy day, there is always beauty around us if you open your eyes.

I travelled to Costa Rica and stayed in an eco lodge (Hotel Quelitales) near Cartago last year in December. Unfortunately when I was there it was raining all day. This hotel is located in the rainforest. It is a really nice place and the chef cooks fantastic fresh food from the garden.

When the rain stopped for a while I immediately took my camera to take some photos of the colourful flowers. I love the fresh look of flowers when raindrops are sitting on the petals which highlight the vibrant colours. Even though the sky was grey you could see the beauty in nature.

When reflecting on that – Life is not always sunshine but when you look deeper you can see the positive things in life and move on.

Life can be amazing and colourful when skies are grey

walking through the rain forest in Costa Rica is paradise for flower lovers

Aren’t we all sometimes in situations were we fight with our friend, partner or family and then you reflect and wonder if it was worth it?

When I was in Costa Rica in Manuel Antonio National park I was watching the two monkeys for a while. They were fighting, screaming at each other and running around like crazy. Suddenly they stopped and it was absolutely quiet. They looked very exhausted. I knew I had to get this shot. Two exhausted monkeys hanging on the tree – too funny.

…but hang on…this reminded me of some situations we face in life. When you are fighting with one of your loved ones and you feel exhausted and upset after it, just stop for a minute and think about it. Was it worth it fighting for? Maybe not? Come on, life can be short.

enough with fighting, we are so exhausted now.

Enjoy life together and stop fighting about little and non important things; it might be a first world problem when you really think about it.

Sometimes we are facing not so pleasant challenges in life which makes it hard for us to be happy. If you don’t like the life you are living at the moment, then change it. However, there can be circumstances in which we cannot change a particular situation in our life but there is one thing we can do. We can change our attitude. Once your mindset is positive; life becomes so much easier. You start seeing obstacles as chances rather than negative road blocks in your life. So choose to be happy and you will be.